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Fantastic Mr. Fox (film)
Fantastic Mr. Fox is a 2009 American stop-motion animated comedy film directed by Wes Anderson, based on Roald Dahl's 1970 children's novel of the same name. The film is about a fox who steals food each night from three mean and wealthy farmers. They are fed up with Mr. Fox's theft and try to kill him, so they dig their way into the foxes' home, but the animals are able to outwit the farmers and live underground. Plot While raiding Berk's squab farm, Mr. Fox and his wife Felicity trigger a fox trap and become caged. Felicity reveals to Fox that she is pregnant and pleads with him to find a safer job if they escape. Fox reluctantly agrees. Two years later, the Foxes and their sullen son Ash are living in a hole. Fox, now a newspaper columnist, moves the family into a better home in the base of a tree, ignoring the warnings of his lawyer Badger about how dangerous the area is for foxes. The tree is located very close to facilities run by three farmers: Walter Boggis, Nathan Bunce, and Franklin Bean. Soon after the Foxes move in, Felicity's nephew Kristofferson Silverfox comes to live with them, as his father has fallen ill with double pneumonia. Ash finds this situation intolerable; his soft-spoken cousin is apparently superior to him at almost everything, and everyone–including Fox and Ash's female fox friend, Agnes–is charmed by Kristofferson at Ash's expense. Longing for his days as a thief, Fox and his friend Kylie Opossum steal produce and poultry from the three farms. Angered, the farmers decide to kill Fox. They camp out near his home. When Fox emerges, the farmers open fire, but only shoot off his tail. They then attempt to dig Fox out. After demolishing the site of the tree, the farmers discover the Foxes have dug an escape tunnel. Reasoning that the Foxes will have to surface for food and water eventually, the farmers wait at the tunnel mouth. Underground, Felicity is upset that Fox returned to his thieving ways. The group later encounters Badger and many other local animal residents whose homes have also been destroyed by the farmers. As the animals begin fearing starvation, Fox leads them on a digging expedition to tunnel to the three farms, robbing them clean. While the other animals feast, Ash and Kristofferson begin to reconcile after Kristofferson defends Ash from a bully. The cousins return to Franklin's farm, intending to reclaim Mr. Fox's tail. When they are interrupted by the arrival of Franklin's wife, Ash escapes, but Kristofferson is captured. Discovering that Fox has stolen their produce, the farmers and the fire chief flood the animals' tunnel network with cider. The flood forces the animals into the sewers, trapping them. Fox learns that the farmers plan to use Kristofferson to lure him into an ambush and heads to the surface to surrender, which would mean his demise. The animals are confronted by Rat, Franklin's security guard, who attacks Ash and Felicity. Hearing his son's cries, Fox returns and fights Rat in an electrical room until Fox pushes him into an electric generator, electrocuting him. Before dying, Rat confesses Kristofferson's location. Fox asks the farmers for a meeting in town near the sewer hub where he would surrender in exchange for Kristofferson's freedom. The farmers set up an ambush, but Fox and the others anticipate it and launch a counterattack. Fox, Ash, and Kylie slip into Franklin's farm. Ash frees Kristofferson and braves enemy fire to release a rabid named Spitz to keep the farmers at bay. The animals become accustomed to living in the sewers with others considering moving in. Ash and Kristofferson settle their differences and become good friends. Fox leads his family, Kylie, and Agnes to a drain opening built into the floor of a supermarket owned by the three farmers. Celebrating their new food source and the news that Felicity is pregnant again, the animals dance. Cast * [[George Clooney] as Mr. Fox * Meryl Streep as Felicity Fox * Jason Schwartzman]] as Ash Fox * Bill Murray as Clive Badger * Willem Dafoe as Rat * Michael Gambon as Franklin Bean * Owen Wilson as Coach Skip * allace Wolodarsky as Kylie * Eric Anderson as Kristofferson Silverfox * Jarvis Cocker] as Petey * Wes Anderson as Stan Weasel * Robin Hurlstone as Walter Boggis * Hugo Guinness as Nathan Bunce * Helen McCrory as Mrs. Bean * Juman Malouf as Agnes * Karen Duffy as Linda Otter * Roman Coppola as Squirrel Contractor * Garth Jennings] as Orson Bean's son * Brian Cox as Daniel Peabody * Steven Rales as Beaver * Jeremy Dawson as Beaver's Son * James Hamilton as Phil Mole * Jennifer Furches as Dr. Badger * Mario Batali as Rabbit * Allison Abbate as Rabbit's ex-girlfriend * Molly Cooper as Rabbit Girl * Brody as Mouse * Martin Ballard as Fire chief Trivia * The original story was written at a dark time in [[Roald Dahl]'s life. He had already lost one of his five children to measles and witnessed another one suffer from water on the brain as the result of a car accident. It was only natural that he would be spurred on to write a tale portraying the father as a protector of the family. * Wes Anderson chose to have the actors record their dialogue outside of a studio and on-location to increase the naturalness: "We went out in a forest, went in an attic, went in a stable... we went underground for some things. There was a great spontaneity in the recordings because of that." * The color scheme of the movie is primarily autumnal (yellows, oranges, and browns) with virtually no green and blue. However, Kristofferson's (Eric Chase Anderson's) blue-colored wardrobe was intentional, as it emphasized his being a visiting outsider. * This is the final animated film by 20th Century Fox to use the 1994 logo